This invention relates to a device to align a trailer hitch with the towing ball of a vehicle.
In order to attach a trailer to the back of a vehicle to tow the trailer, it is necessary to elevate the tongue of the trailer, to which the socket portion of the hitch is attached, and position the socket over the towing ball, which is attached to the towing vehicle. Because of the weight of most trailers, the most common maneuver is to back the towing vehicle, while observing the position of the towing ball, until the ball is located under the trailer hitch socket. Because the ball is located below the back portion of the vehicle, this maneuver typically requires a second person outside the vehicle to guide the driver of the vehicle.
Many types of alignment devices have been proposed in the prior art to indicate the alignment of the vehicle with the trailer to the driver inside the vehicle. Such prior art devices typically include a target assembly mounted to a forward portion of the trailer tongue or hitch and a pointing assembly mounted on a rear portion of the vehicle, or vice versa, such that bringing a distal portion of the pointing assembly into contact with the target assembly will indicate alignment of the hitch with the ball. The proposed prior art devices, however, have had difficulties that have precluded their acceptance in the marketplace. Most such devices are typically complicated mechanisms which are difficult to install and even more difficult to use. Some of the target assemblies have a large target device that provides good visibility to the driver, but only function properly when the vehicle is backed into a straight-line alignment with the trailer. Other target assemblies accommodate a vehicle backing toward the trailer at an angle to the centerline of the trailer but only at the cost of requiring a very small target which a vehicle driver would have difficulty viewing. Furthermore, the alignment devices of the prior art are usually only suitable for use with a particular type of vehicle or trailer and are not usable with various other types of vehicles.